Editor’s letter

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Welcome to the latest issue of Spectator Health. For our cover story we have the brilliant Professor Allyson Pollock writing on the controversial topic of rugby in schools. Her interest in the risks associated with the sport was sparked by her own son’s injuries on the pitch. This launched a decade-long fight for data on injuries to help parents make an informed choice about risk. It makes a fascinating, horrifying story and one every parent should read.

Also in this issue we have the eminent psychiatrist Professor Dinesh Bhugra, president of the World Psychiatric Association, writing on the topic of men and depression, an area that is often misunderstood or ignored. We also have actor John Hurt writing about his moving experience of visiting children with facial deformities in Ethiopia, as well as Lord Howard writing about the plight of hospices in this country.

We have an article by former fitness-phobe Freddy Gray about his attempts to battle the bulge, as well as a review of detox haven Grayshott. In this issue’s Focus On section, in collaboration with VitalityHealth, we look at eyes.

And of course we have all our usual columnists: Tom Chivers, Theodore Dalrymple, Christine Webber and David Delvin, Ian Marber and Maureen Lipman.

Do continue to email, write and tweet with your thoughts and views about the magazine. All the articles are available on line at www.speactator.co.uk/health and you’ll also find other blog posts and articles on health stories in the news as well as top tips and advice from medical experts.